EDUCATION+CONFERENCE+2010

Fields of Life Fourth Annual Education Conference 2010

"Dynamic Leadership - Leading the Jesus Way"

The 4th Annual Education Conference for Fields of Life schools took place in Kampala on the 8th and 9th December, 2010. A total of 200 delegates from across East Africa, representing approximately 90 schools, attended the conference. Delegates, both headteachers and directors of schools, travelled from Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,and Kenya , with the majority of representatives from Uganda.

Background to the conference

Given the success of the three previous conferences, it was felt by the EAG that it was imperative that this year’s conference should go ahead, and it was decided that the theme would be "Dynamic Leadership - Leading the Jesus Way".  Last year's conference demonstrated that there was a need for a more spiritual dimension to this year’s programme and that it was necessary to provide opportunites for delegates to share their experiences in both the spiritual and professional sense.

As in previous years, there was an increasing local involvement with our African brothers and sisters delivering much of the programme content, with a significant part being played by the team of Associate Assessors who support Bernard in his inspection programme. The success of the Associate Assessor inspection programme was graphically illustrated by presentations from 2 of them which highlighted the cooperation and partnership developing among schools, with a subsequent raising of standards across the board. This has been one of the most significant developments from the conferences over the last 3 years. It was encouraging to see how effectively the schools were taking initiatives and implementing the structures and processes learnt from their participation in the  previous conference programmes.

This years aims were:
  1. To  reinforce the 6 standards which define successful Fields of Life Schools.
  2. To enhance the concept of Christian leadership through looking at what we can learn from the life of Jesus as exemplified by the Gospels.
  3. To learn from each other about how we improve standards in our schools.
  4. To encourage schools to take the initiative to improve their own situation .
  5. To develop further leadership standards in our schools.
  6. To continue the work of previous conferences in  encouraging  sound financial management and  in identifying alternative funding sources.
  7. To develop further the cooperation and collaboration between schools to enhance the quality of teaching and learning and to raise standards of achievement for the pupils.
  8. Conclusion

With the benefit of prayer and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the conference was an outstanding success. All who were present were struck by the presence of the Holy Spirit working in their lives and were encouraged by the progress made by schools during one of the most difficult years for Fields of Life.

We give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and give Him all the glory.